Frade’s Photos is an introduction into one of the art domains unknown in the production of the painter from Cayey, Ramon Frade Leon. Frade is above all recognized for his genre painting, por- trayal of national types and landscapes. In this case his photography is the ob- ject of study and exhibition. Samples of his photos dating from the late 19th century, in Santo Domingo and up to the 1940’s in Puerto Rico are placed right next to sketches and drawings done as a process leading to paintings. Photography became his medium to embrace the countryside, rural life, and architecture. His main concern was the pictorial representation of people im- mersed in working scenes of everyday life in Cayey, Puerto Rico.

Through photography Frade builds the visual images which mirror material and spiritual features of the character of Puerto Ricans. Ethnic and racial profiles through color and proportions, textures and attitudes are accurate representa- tions of the island’s national identity. Frade’s sensibility and vision corre- sponds to sociological, anthropological and political concerns present in the colonial society of his epoch.